hard shifts from auto trans - normal??

[phreakish93]

hello all, im new to the import world. just got a 93 accord coupe ex, 153k miles.

when i shift into d4 it shifts pretty hard and through accelration the shifts seem kinda harsh, my friend with a 96 accord, says the old trannys shifted nice and hard like that is he right??? and if not what should i do?

also what is the normal idle rev for my car, to me it seems really low like 700 is what it sorta chills at . . .like i said im new

thx for any and all help

(my dream project car is now a reality . . .just have to get it up to par.)

[93accord2dr]

Check your tranny fluid...if it is brown, and smells burnt, then it needs to be changed ASAP. But if it is red, then you're OKAY.

The dipstick to check the fluid is down low, near the radiator(it has a yellow handle, as the oil dipstick is orange).

Good luck.

[phreakish93]

do i need to do just a drain and refill or a full flush? the guy at honda said that sometimes a full flush can hurt the tranny, but i want to get opinions from people who know what they are talking about with their cars

[alb_accord]

don't do a flush. just do a oil change if its needed.

[93accord2dr]

Originally posted by phreakish93
do i need to do just a drain and refill or a full flush? the guy at honda said that sometimes a full flush can hurt the tranny, but i want to get opinions from people who know what they are talking about with their cars

If you do a full flush, it can get out the metal shavings that are in your tranny. I've never heard of the full flush damaging the tranny, just as long as the car isn't moved while it doesn't have any fluid in it.

[br0nx finest]

all of them jerk, well i mean all i've been in, that is caused by the motor mounts.

slight jerk during a gear engage is normal, but there is a point where it is excessive, and that means you need motor mounts.

[deckeda]

Change your fluid. Chances are it's never been done. It's easy.

There's a plug to unscrew and remove on the tranny facing sideways toward the passenger tire. There is no filter to deal with.

Refill through the dipstick hole with ONLY the proper tranny fluid. This usually means Honda auto tranny fluid. You can get it from your Honda parts counter at the dealer.

Don't underfill. Don't overfill.

When you're done, it still won't shift as smoothly as a new car, but you should notice an improvement nonetheless, particularly in the one-two shift.

[accordaffair]

My auto-tranny and every cb7 auto tranny I've ridden in has rough shifting later in it's life. It's not excessive it's just more than most other auto-tranny's in other makes. It's normal. No need for alarm, I remember reading that it takes more work for a tranny to shift smoothly, and wears it out quicker. That seems contrary to logic, but it's just what I heard. And I believe 700 is an acceptable idle. Mine idles at around 400-500. It's the job of the ecu to use the lowest idle possible without starving the engine, which leads to the shakes. Lower idle=less fuel usage=better fuel economy.

[deckeda]

Originally posted by accordaffair
... I remember reading that it takes more work for a tranny to shift smoothly, and wears it out quicker. That seems contrary to logic, but it's just what I heard. ...

Here's why: Internal slippage is needed to smoothly transition from gear to gear. The throttle stays essentially the same but the car can ONLY be in one gear at a time.

Without a noticable drop in acceleration, something's gotta give; that power being transferred into the tranny has to go somewhere . It winds up being absorbed as slippage inside the tranny, aka friction, aka heat, aka slow death.

"Heavy duty" or race auto trannys need to minimize this friction and heat buildup in order to survive longer. The answer is to design or modify the tranny to shift quicker, and therefore harder. In traditional, old-school auto trannies that have removeable valve bodies this is easily done by adding a "shift-kit."

This is different from a tranny that's worn and hard-shifts because of weak oil, such is the case with for example a CB7 with a kajillion miles on it.

[cb7_driver]

changing your tranny fluid would be best, i changed mine with every oil change and it worked fine, until i raced it, now its blown. also dont shift the gears yourself. which reminds me, does any body know the best place to look for a used f22a/b 5 speed?

[dwoloz]

Originally posted by accordaffair
My auto-tranny and every cb7 auto tranny I've ridden in has rough shifting later in it's life. It's not excessive it's just more than most other auto-tranny's in other makes. It's normal. No need for alarm, I remember reading that it takes more work for a tranny to shift smoothly, and wears it out quicker. That seems contrary to logic, but it's just what I heard. And I believe 700 is an acceptable idle. Mine idles at around 400-500. It's the job of the ecu to use the lowest idle possible without starving the engine, which leads to the shakes. Lower idle=less fuel usage=better fuel economy.

recommended idle is 800-900 iirc

my idles set ~850
anything below that and i get annoying idle vibrations and poorer shift quality

[accordaffair]

I only get shakes now and then when I'm stopped at a light. Only once in 30 lights, and only for half a second or so. It will idle fine at 500 without the shakes.

[dwoloz]

somethings fucked up with my car then

i looked in my haynes and recommended idle is 700 (with iac connected)

anything below 850 and my car vibrates a ton at idle (hell, even at 850 it does it ocassionally)

also, when in reverse, anything below 850 vibrates the car like crazy too)

[accordaffair]

Reverse is always shaky on automatic 4 bangers, not much to do there. But it seems odd that you guys can't idle smoothly at a lower rpm. My cars always been a low idler with no probs. Don't know if that has to do with lubrication, engine mounts, maybe a good intake manifold cleaning...not sure.

[dwoloz]

im wondering if maybe my front mount is shot